Not Just Bikes
4 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2021–2022
23:01 · 1.1M views · Aug 23, 2021
Not Just Bikes compares the same cycling trip to a hardware store in Calgary and in Amsterdam, using a 'plus 1 minus 2' format. It shows how street design shapes how safe and practical cycling is.
HN recommends the channel for understanding why North American road design makes cycling dangerous and how the Dutch approach differs.
6 comments from Hacker News
> The best option is to just take the lane and follow the rules of the road for drivers of vehicles. You get noticed and you don't have conflicts at intersections. You don't need to be physically fit to do it (other than be physically capable of riding a bike). Most people won't be comfortable doing this for the simple reason that they'll be going slower than surrounding traffic and it will piss of drivers, which is scary when you're on a bike and they have two tons of metal right beside you. If the safest way to do something is mildly terrifying and generally viewed as antagonistic, we can't be surprised that most people will avoid doing that thing. I've really been inspired lately by watching the videos on this channel about urban design in the Netherlands: [LINK] I didn't realize how much urban cycling raises my blood pressure until I watched this video that compares a journey in Canada to a journey in the Netherlands, it's hard to imagine cycling being so safe and easy outside a college campus: this video
Not Just Bikes on YouTube covers road/pedestrian/bike safety extensively. [LINK] Specific videos: Crossing the street should be safer: [LINK] How to quickly build a cycling city: [LINK] Wasting money on car infrastructure: [LINK] The wrong way to set speed limits: [LINK] Safe cycling: this video "Stroads" are dangerous: [LINK]
Cycling is normally very dangerous in North America (outside of certain urban cores and small towns), due to the road design and zoning laws. This channel is helpful in understanding the problem: this video
Watch the bicycle infrastructure get better as he get out into the Amsterdam suburbs. Cycling showdown, Amsterdam vs. Calgary this video
> Most things we take for granted like being able to get a week's worth of groceries home in one trip or going to enjoy a restaurant that specializes in a niche style, or buying cheap goods at a warehouse store, or being able to get to a hospital within half an hour all require automobile infrastructure It's possible to do these things without a car if your city has prioritized making that a reality. The exact mode depends on the city. Some examples: * In the Netherlands, cycling infrastructure is strong enough that you can bike to a big box store outside the city and load up your bike with what you need [0]. You can fit a week's worth of goods in a cargo bike [1] if that's your style. There is also an argument to be made that you don't need to buy groceries weekly if your city is dense and you have a store nearby. * In Pittsburgh, there are flyer (fast track) busses that will take you to malls in the northern car-oriented suburbs as well as light rail to the southern suburbs. So you can reach most niche stores in the metro area by bus/light rail. Although it's pedestrian hostile in the northern burbs. In the city proper, bus coverage is good enough to get basically anywhere including all the niche restaurants. Though light rail is more frequent and pleasant. Bus frequency and reliability is just OK, not great. Could be improved by changing priorities. My point here is that Pittsburgh's urban form is not great but they still came up with transit solutions that work for averag